Looking for some top tips, tricks and hacks for storing your Christmas decorations? Then this is the blog post for you. As a well-established secure storage solution unit, we have seen some great Christmas storage ideas. We would love to share these with you. To help you with your Christmas decoration self storage packing.

Take Photos

Remember how long it took you to get your Christmas displays just right? Instead of spending hours next year trying to get it ‘just right’ again, why not do it the same? Exactly the same! This can be done by taking photos. It’s a long time from January when you take the decorations down to the following December when they go up again. Photos of your garden display, Christmas tree, fireplace and other displays around your home will really help you when you come to create your stunning festive masterpieces once more. 

Re-Use

Take a look at the ornaments and decorations as you take them down. It seems a shame to pack them away if they can be used again. Things like fairy lights, for example, could be used for evening lighting on those warmer summer evenings? They’ll add some late-night sparkle, or they could be used as an added sparkly in your fireplace for example. If the decorations can be used throughout the year, store them separately from the decorations that will only be used at Christmas.

List It

As you are packing all your Christmas decorations away into self storage boxes, start listing them. Whether it’s festive cushions and blankets, novelty decorations, outdoor blow-up items, indoor lights and outdoor lights, list them down. Tape the list on the box and that way you’ll know where to dins the items you need, as you need them, when they come out of secure storage in November or December.

Separate Baubles 

If you have coloured baubles that you use for your tree and want to separate them into colour, then you’ll love this tip. Place the different colours, shapes and styles into different resealable bags. Label the bag with the colour or shape ornament so you can re-use the bag next year too. Then place all the plastic resealable bags into a large box and label it as ‘baubles’. This way you’ll be able to find exactly what you need to be able to decorate your tree.

Shrink Wrapping

If you have a fake tree, then storage can be a nightmare. You have to take it all apart, fold all the branches in and try and squeeze it back into the box that has been resealed every year for the last decade. Then, when it’s time to take it out again next year, the branches take ages to bend back into shape, the box it’s in is falling apart and the tree looks like it’s wonky. Unless you use this clever hack and shrink wrap your Christmas tree! It can then be stored with ease, throughout the year. When you’re ready to put it up again, just cut through the shrink wrap and fluff out the branches. It’s as easy as that.

Sewn Tree Wrapping

If you don’t like the idea of shrink wrapping your fake Christmas tree, then why not sew some storage for it? You can use large dust sheets to create bags, these bags can then be placed over the top, round the middle and around the bottom. You can then rest assured that your fake tree will not become squashed, and it will be safe and clean when you take it out of secure storage next year.

Cardboard & Lights

Use an old toilet roll or some disposable cardboard for your Christmas lights to keep them tidy and tangle free. Just wrap the lights around the cardboard and if you’re using a tube, pop the plug in the middle. Label the lights on the cardboard with what colour they are or where they go, for example. This will make it much easier to make sure you put all the Christmas lights on display in the right places.

Coffee Cans & Lights

If you would prefer not to use cardboard, or have a coffee canister to hand, then this can be the perfect self storage solution for your Christmas fairy lights. Cut a slit in the plastic lid of your coffee canister first. Push the plug through this slit into the can. Then wrap the fairy lights around the coffee canister and tape into place. On the lid of the coffee cannister state the type of fairy lights and where they go. This hack works really well with longer strings of lights, whereas shorter strings are well suited to our cardboard hack as stated.

Bottles & Garlands

If tangled up lights weren’t frustrating enough, tangled garlands are. When there is a long string of beads or a garland twisted into itself and other Christmas decorations it can be tempting to bin them all and start again. However, this costs money and there is a solution. Place your beads or garlands into a plastic water bottle, then pull them out the lid when you need to use them next year. If you have a standard garland of beads, you’ll find that each small water bottle will hold 2 strings. 

Hang Hanging Ornaments

It sounds really simple, but it’s something lots of people don’t consider when putting their Christmas decorations into secure storage. If you have shatter-proof hanging decorations for your tree, these can be hung on a wooden rod. This can then be placed into a plastic box or bin to go into self storage. If you have delicate or glass ornaments, we recommend these are stored in individual containers to make sure they stay safe and undamaged during transportation and storage.

Outside The Box Containers

Think outside the box when it comes to storage containers for your Christmas decorations. Things like a wine bottle box with cardboard dividers can be great for storing individually wrapped ornaments. If you have smaller festive trinkets, then why not place these in an egg carton? Larger baubles fit perfectly in old shoe boxes. Meanwhile, paper towel tubes can work well for thick garlands or tinsel. Individual ornaments can be stored separately in plastic cups too. These can then be stacked safely in boxes or larger containers.

Hanging Wreaths

If you have multiple wreaths these can be hung from hangers in your wardrobe or a wardrobe self storage box. This will prevent your favourite Christmas wreath from becoming damaged or going flat under the weight of other, heavier items. Your Christmas wreathes will often be light in weight, so many can be hung from one hanger and rod.

Christmas Wrapping Paper

Every year we all buy extra wrapping paper. This may be because we think we need more than we do, or we see it in the sales after Christmas and it’s a bargain that seems too good to refuse. However, storing Christmas wrapping paper can become a problem. A garment bag is the perfect solution for Christmas wrapping paper storage. It’s long enough and large enough to store multiple rolls of wrapping paper. The plastic bag will also keep the paper straight, uncreased, dry and protected.

Candles

Candles are extremely popular at Christmas time. However, they are rarely all used. On top of this, they are a popular Christmas gift from loved ones and friends too. This can leave you with lots of festive candles that aren’t needed until the following year. These can be very fragile, so you need to be careful with storing them. You need to make sure they aren’t stored near too much heat either, as they might melt. If you have taper candles these can be wrapped in tissue paper and then placed into a cardboard tube. Other candles just need to be stored in a cool and dry location, gently, to avoid breakages.

What Christmas Decorations Will You Be Storing?

As well as thinking about how you will be storing your Christmas decorations, you need to be thinking about what you will be storing and where you will be storing it too. By planning out the secure storage space for your Christmas decorations in advance, you will be saving yourself a lot of stress when it comes to storing your items when they’re all packed up as our tips suggest.

So, what will you be storing?

There’s the tree, Christmas lights, outdoor decorations and displays, large ornaments, baubles, tinsel, garlands and more. You may have special festive pillows, throws, blankets and rugs which need to be stored away. What about any artwork, paintings or light displays that go up during the festive period? These will need to be stored safely too.

Now, think about how much space this will take up. If you don’t have the space in your home, then you may need to consider self storage facilities where you have a secure storage solution for your Christmas decorations. While this is more costly than storing your items in the garage or shed, at least you know your Christmas decorations will be safe and protected throughout the year.

If you think you might need a self storage unit for your Christmas decorations, then give us a call. Don’t forget, you don’t need to save the secure storage unit for Christmas decorations only. You could also use the space to store winter coats, hats and scarves. It could free up some room in your own home by using it for sledges, ski equipment and more. It’s your self-storage space and you can use it for anything you want whether you’re in Peterborough or Darlington.

Call our self storage experts for more details on how our secure storage could free up more space in your home.